It’d be real easy to just say “oh the people who voted for Trump are all xenophobic/racist/misogynistic/homophobic/(insert descriptor here)” because oh how many of us disappointed in this result want an easy answer to what just happened.

Let me be honest and upfront: I haven’t been super excited about a big budget AAA video game in years. This does not mean I don’t like and enjoy such games, because I get them and I do like them and play them and have a good time. But… they don’t move me like some indie games have in the last few years. Maybe that’s because the AAA hype machine is usually reserved for sequels and “safe” new IPs with PR campaigns that cost nearly as much as the game development itself. I was in the room when MGSV was officially announced, and I didn’t get excited for it until about 6 weeks before the game came out (truly, for the best). I will admit, E3 2015 has made me hype for the return of The Last Guardian, the new IP Horizon, and a few others, and with E3 2016 having happened relatively recently, I’m excited about more things, but I digress. That’s for another time. Here… I want to talk about game that while small, have huge expectations and bigger ambitions. Two games, one on the precipice of release, that have made me feel things about video games I don’t feel often. These games are thatgamecompany’s Journey, and Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THE WITNESS IS $40. AND HOW DARE HELLO GAMES CHARGE $60 FOR NO MAN’S SKY. AND UGH THOSE INDIE DEVS WHO REFUSE TO PUT THEIR GAME ON SALE AND EXPECT ME TO PAY MORE THAN $15 FOR THEIR GAMES. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE!?” Well, they think they are people creating a product who believe in that product’s value and don’t want to conform to some arbitrary pricing standard you believe in. I hate what we as a community have done to devalue games. And don’t think big publishers and indie devs haven’t taken notice. In a world of free-to-play and mobile games, massive Steam sales, and the always popular “I’ll wait for a price drop”, it’s hard to convince people to pay full price for a game, and even harder to get them to pay a bigger price then they assume a game is worth.

You ever think you’ll never catch up on the latest electronic trends, and that things are moving at an alarming rate? Not only are you right and not alone, you probably don’t even know just how far behind you might be. No. Seriously. 8K TV was demo-ready in 2014. Shit’s intense. Don’t worry. It’s all the worst gimmicky gimmicks ever.

Put it on my face. That’s all I could think as I wandered the halls of CES this year, staring at VR headset after headset. Put it on my face. I want to live there. If I can’t have a flying car, I want to at least pretend I’m flying like a superhero.

“I can’t stand losing visionary father-like figures” a tweet from a friend said. “Yeah, I can’t either” I thought to myself, trying to rationalize the news that Satoru Iwata had passed. Read the rest of this entry »

I listen to a lot of music. I can find an enjoyable song or two on most albums I’m handed, regardless of genre, musician, or even language. However, there are a few that I feel are flawless in the sense that I can go back to them, and find almost nothing I dislike from it. They aren’t necessarily the best albums, or even my favorites, but they are time and time again albums I can listen to end to end without wanting to skip a track. I guess it’s rather telling about my musical tastes that these are the ones I picked though.

I’m probably over 100 hours into Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, and I’m not even that far into the game yet. Part of that has been my personal “grinding quests over and over again for certain item drops to craft armor/weapons I want” thing that most people who’ve ever played a game with item drops knows the pain of. However, I’m not hating the grind. Maybe because there’s a lot in the game itself that makes it feel less like a grind and more like an exploration. Read the rest of this entry »

Living in Vegas afforded me incredibly easy access to the inaugural Playstation Experience. I bought my tickets the day they went on sale, and even though I eventually found out that not only did they go up for half price on Groupon or that I could have a free ticket due to connections, I feel it was worth every penny. The event itself was a mix of Sony at E3 and PAX: part preview hype machine, part marketing, part fan event. And I loved it. Read the rest of this entry »

I guess this is the only way to really get you to read something. My texts tend to go ignored (whether intentionally or not, I don’t know), and conversing with you ends up being a lot of you interjecting. So if this is the only way to get to you, then fine, whatever. Read the rest of this entry »

Alright, now what?

My name is Janette Goering, and I'm alright, I guess. I’m probably not anywhere as cool as you think I am. I like what I like and don't what I don't.
This blog is an extension of me, so you’ll find things I care am and passionate about. That could be anything from socio-political views to tasty recipes to reviews about games to how to properly enjoy whiskey, and anything in-between.